SugarSync updated to 2.1, offers SD card sync and offline access

SugarSync is by far one of my favorite applications to have on my BlackBerry. It’s one of the few apps I have loyally installed on each of my BlackBerry smartphones over the past couple of years. By making use of SugarSync, you can access your files from anywhere – a traffic jam, the beach, the toilet; anywhere! It’s not just read-only access to your documents; it’s access, edit and then sync. Through the application you can stream your entire music collection without having to access a single USB or set up WiFi Music Sync. You can also sync and share files and/or folders with your contacts. This means eliminating the need to run back to the office to retrieve your client the documents you need.

Just before I went to bed last night, I noticed BlackBerry App World notifying me that an update was available for SugarSync. What else could they possibly stuff into this application? Check it out:

• You’ve got offline access: Now sync files and entire folders to your BlackBerry for offline access. It’s perfect for accessing your stuff on an airplane.
• You’ve got SD card sync (perfect for backing up your photo library): Snap lots of photos on your BlackBerry, but hate the process of getting it onto your computer? You can now back up and sync anything on your SD card, including your entire photos folder, to the Cloud and your computers. No wires required.
• You’ve got (even more) security: All mobile transactions have always been encrypted, but we’re going further by giving you an option to add a PIN code to access the app.
• You’ve got better performance and stability: Our aim is to make the app as efficient as possible. We made big improvements here.

Not bad for a company that also offers 5GB of storage to start…for free! You can increase this by upgrading, referrals or going through the Getting Started steps.

Get a 500MB storage bonus for SugarSync here
More information/download SugarSync for BlackBerry smartphones[qrcode pix=120]http://nhcbba.com/downloads/SugarSync[/qrcode]

Package Tracking for BlackBerry updated to v6.0 – Adds a ton of carriers

When I know I have a package coming, or if I’ve sent something important, I always have to stalk track it to see when it’s arriving. Package Tracking for BlackBerry is a great app for staying on top of deliveries while on the go. Recently updated to v6.0, Package Tracking now can track packages shipped through 44 carriers (when it first launched only 5 carriers were available). The design has been upgraded and the app is now available on most BlackBerry smartphones. You can pick this handy app up on sale for $2.99 right now (reg. $3.99) for your BlackBerry or for $2.99 for your PlayBook.

More information/purchase Package Tracking for BlackBerry[qrcode pix=120]http://nhcbba.com/downloads/Package_Tracking[/qrcode]
More information/purchase Package Tracking HD for BlackBerry PlayBook[qrcode pix=120]http://nhcbba.com/downloads/Package_Tracking_HD_PB[/qrcode]

 

via:cb

 

20,000 Jamaican teachers to get BlackBerry smartphones in new partnership with RIM

Research In Motion has teamed up with the Ministry of Education to provide approximately 20,000 teachers in Jamaica with Blackberry smartphones for the new academic year. The Canadian High Commission is supporting the initiative, which is aimed at improving communication and increasing technology awareness.

Under the partnership with RIM, the company will be making two of its newest technologies available to teachers – the Blackberry Mobile Voice System, which will reduce costs by having one phone extension for multiple numbers; and the Blackberry Pushcast to enable distribution of content such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, or audio files.

On Jumptap’s network, Android dominates more U.S. states than iOS or BlackBerry

Jumptap recently released a report that separated the 50 states by mobile operating system. It mapped out which states are prominently iOS users, which use Android the most, and which states use BlackBerry smartphones based on 83 million users on its ad network. New England and the Midwest represented the largest pockets of iOS users while Texas, California and much of the West were Android users. New York is primarily a BlackBerry state, perhaps due to the number of corporate users in New York City. Alaska was neutral and Hawaii had more iOS users than Android or BlackBerry. Jumptap collected its data from its mobile advertising network, so the data doesn’t represent sales or market share of course. Read on for more findings from the report.

Manufacturer analysis showed that Sony Ericsson devices are the only Android devices with ad performance nearing that of iOS devices. Ads running on Sony Ericsson devices in the first half of 2011 averaged a .54% click-through rate, making it the only Android manufacturer above the industry average of .52%, but still not as high as iOS devices at .78%.

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BGR

An interview with RIM's Managing Director for the UK & Ireland, Stephen Bates

[ youtube video link for mobile viewing ]

While Ewan was busy checking out the new BlackBerry 7 devices today in the UK, he took some time out to sit down with RIM’s Managing Director for the UK & Ireland, Stephen Bates. Mr. Bates talked on the new devices, the BlackBerry 7 OS, Liquid Graphics and the international reach of the BlackBerry platform. He goes on to say that this is the biggest global launch for RIM to date and more devices are certainly on the way. Sit back, relax and check out the full interview above (make sure you stick it out til the end!) then read more on the upcoming BlackBerry smartphones.

via: cb

Rogers introduces first-ever real-time data usage alerts for roaming

Delayed flights, lost luggage, middle seat, airline goes on strike while you’re on vacation?  These are just a few of the pains people experience when they travel.  I can tell you as a Canadian, that you don’t know travel woes until you travel as a Canadian with your smartphone.  The big three (Rogers, Telus & Bell) have obscene roaming rates.  So when the Kevin, Bla1ze and myself travel to WES/DevCon/BB World with our BlackBerry smartphones we are making a huge sacrifice for you the NHCBBA nation. Rogers charges $6.14/MB in the US, if you think that is bad when our fearless leader travels to Barcelona for Mobile World Congress he is billed the bargain basement rate of $30.00 per megabyte.

The carriers offer packaged bundles for short periods of time to help remove some of the burden of the roaming costs, but who knows how much data is used?  I find when I travel my data use increases with all my Facebook or Twitter photo uploads (can’t let an opportunity to show off what I am eating for dinner) plus all the glorious FourSquare check-ins to earn more and more badges. With these carrier bundles when you’ve exhausted the bucket you go back to pay-per-use.

Rogers however, has introduced some good news.  They have introduced alerts to keep you current on your roaming data usage as well as lower cost travel data passes.  This is a decent start to help ease some of the data roaming pain. Looking forward to see how it helps for DevCon and CES.

More information at Rogers Redboard

via: cb

RIM launches Blackberry Torch 9810, Torch 9860 and Bold 9900, we go hands-on!

Here they are folks. Months after we first got our hands on pre-release Torch and Bold Touch handsets, RIM is finally ready to show off its latest hardware. They’re all powered by a 1.2GHz processor, have 768MB of on-board RAM and — most importantly — run the latest operating system BB OS7.

RIM claims its new OS is 40 percent faster at browsing compared to OS6-based smartphones, and 100 percent faster than OS5 handsets. It also supports RIM’s Liquid Graphics technology, which uses a dedicated graphics processor for smoother scrolling, zooming and panning.
http://www.viddler.com/player/a921ec46/0/ <!–

Hands-on impressions and video follow after the break.

RIM's BlackBerry Torch 9850 goes official for Sprint and US Cellular

What’s a BlackBerry launch without a bit of love for RIM’s CDMA partners? Infinite sadness, that’s what. While the outfit (understandably) couldn’t showcase the BlackBerry Torch 9850 at its London launch event this morning, the CDMA sibling to the Torch 9860 is making its official debut in the US of A. Destined for US Cellular and Sprint here in the States, it’ll ship with a 3.7-inch WVGA (800 x 480) touchpanel, BlackBerry 7 OS, a “waterfall” screen design that tickles the edges ever-so-slightly, and not one inkling of a physical keyboard. As with the 9850 — which is destined for AT&T, Rogers, Telus and Bell — you’ll get a five megapixel “zero-shutter lag” camera, 720p movie mode, inbuilt GPS and a 1.2GHz processor. There’s no mention yet of a price or release for the SIM-less duo, but you can bet that we’ll keep you posted as we hear more.

 

AT&T announces 4G BlackBerry portfolio

AT&T BlackBerry fans can now breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the BlackBerry Torch 9810, BlackBerry Bold 9900 as well as the BlackBerry Torch 9860 will all be making their way to AT&T. Looking for the full details?

Read on past the break for the full press release.

BlackBerry PlayBook Commercial Shows Off BlackBerry Bridge

We all know BlackBerry’s marketing department isn’t the greatest, specially when it comes to commercials. We all know how long it took for a PlayBook commercial to finally hit the airways and truth be told these commercials have left lots to be desired when compared to other competitors’ tablets’ commercials. Well there’s a new commercial that’s making its way on TV. This time, RIM highlights the awesome BlackBerry Bridge benefit of owning both a PlayBook and BlackBerry smartphone. About time too as this should’ve been one of the top selling points to drive current BlackBerry owners to not only buy the RIM tablet but also stay with their BlackBerry smartphones as a whole.

Check out the video above and let us know your thoughts the COMMENTS below..

via: cb